Turkey takes PPP route for Ankara airport expansion

Turkey has completed the first phase of the expansion of Esenboğa Airport in Ankara through a public-private partnership (PPP), aiming to increase passenger capacity by 50 percent.

The project was implemented with an investment of €298 million ($347 million), but “without a single penny paid from the state coffers”, the Daily Sabah newspaper reported, quoting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s speech at the opening ceremony.

The operating company will pay €560 million in rent to the government over the 25-year lease period, he said.

The first-phase expansion included an air traffic control tower and a third runway.

The second phase includes the expansion of the airport’s terminal building by 40,000 square metres, an apron and connecting taxiway.

“We will increase the annual passenger capacity of Esenboğa Airport from 20 million to 30 million,” Erdoğan said.

The number of active airports in Turkey has increased from 26 in 2002 to 58 today, with Çukurova International Airport inaugurated in 2024, the president said in a statement.

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In addition, air transportation agreements increased from 81 to 175, while international flights expanded from 60 destinations in 50 countries to 356 destinations in 133 countries.

The number of passengers on domestic and international flights exceeded 247 million in 2025 versus 34.5 million in 2002, Erdoğan said.

Earlier this month transport and infrastructure minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu said work will begin on an offshore airport along the Black Sea this year, including a 10-million-passenger terminal and a 3,000-metre runway.